Cairo, Egypt: The Sailing the Nile for the Millennium Development Goals Campaign 2008 reached its final destination in Cairo on 13 December 2008. The closing event also celebrated International Volunteer Day (5 December) and International Human Rights Day (10 December).

A total of more than 2,000 participants attended: representatives from the United Nations, campaign partners, local and international non-governmental organizations, donor organizations, schoolchildren, volunteers, youth, families, civil society at large and the media.

The Sailing the Nile Campaign for the Millennium Development Goals 2008 started off in Alexandria on 18 October 2008 and since then passed through the governorates of Aswan, Qena, Sohag, Assyut, Minya, Beni Suef and the city of Luxor.

During the campaign, the importance of volunteerism for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was highlighted through various activities conducted and organized by local partners and volunteers.

These included opening ceremonies attended by the Governor of each governorate, with key speakers and press conferences; medical caravans; awareness sessions on the eight MDGs in schools and universities; lectures on viral hepatitis, HIV/AIDs, avian influenza, sexual harassment and education reform; art and photography exhibitions conducted by youth and children; sports activities; plays, poems and songs performed by youth; cleaning up the streets; and school wall paintings.

Several NGOs, Government departments and corporationstook part too, such as the Youth Association for Population and Development, the National Committee for Childhood and Motherhood, the Ministry of Information Technology, the National Committee on Viral Hepatitis, JICA, Plan International, the Mansour Group, FedEx, Kwik Kopy,